People v. Silva
People v. Silva
Opinion of the Court
delivered tbe opinion of tbe court.
Two Insular policemen, suspecting that José Silva was selling milk without a license, placed his store under observation. They testified that they saw a number of people coming from his place carrying jugs, and in the case of one boy they examined the contents and found that it was milk; that they also got one man to go in, so they allege, to buy 2 cents’ worth of milk, of which they possessed themselves. They also testified that they went to the store subsequently and seized some of the milk and made three samples of it, one of which was left in the possession of the defendant, one they kept, and one was turned over to the inspector of milk.
It is conceded that the milk was adulterated. The appellant alleges, among other things, that a good part of the testimony of the policemen was hearsay. No objection on this ground was made in the court below. When a defendant permits evidence to go in which, if proper objection were made would be excluded, he cannot be allowed for the first time in the appellate court to object to the character of the evidence. (Falero et al. v. Falero [15 P. R., 111], judgment of February 19, 1909.) Both parties may agree, for example, to suffer certain evidence to go in to avoid the necessity of summoning a number of witnesses. If the objectionable'proof is probatory in its nature, it will bind the defendant if he does not object. If no objection is made, the matter of hearsay testimony affects only the weight of the evidence. Where a case is tried by the court, the admission of improper evidence is generally to be presumed not to affect the result. (Belber v. Calvo [16 P. R., 342], judgment
We find no error in the record, and the judgment must be affirmed.
Affirmed.
Case-law data current through December 31, 2025. Source: CourtListener bulk data.